Picatinny welcomes new Joint Services leader

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - The Picatinny Arsenal community welcomed Col. Jeffrey K. Wilson to the Program Executive Office for Ammunition's Project Manager for Joint Services during an Assumption of Management ceremony here Sept. 9.

Wilson will lead Joint Services as the Project Director, during what will be his third tour at Picatinny.

As a major, Wilson first served here as the Assistant Project Manager for Tank and Medium Caliber Ammunition. He later served as the Product Manager for the Excalibur Precision Munition, the Army's first all-weather, precision-guided artillery round.

While Wilson wasn't at Picatinny when the first Excalibur was fielded, he was instrumental in the round's development, said Program Executive Officer for Ammunition and Installation Commanding General Brig. Gen. Jonathan A. Maddux, who hosted the ceremony.

"Today we've fired many (Excalibur) rounds downrange and have the capability for a first-target hit with that precision artillery round that Jeff helped bring around and into a reality," Maddux said of Excalibur, adding that the Marine Corps had fired 20 of the rounds in Afghanistan in the past month.

"That round is having a significant impact on our overseas contingency operations and Jeff led that," he said.

In his new role as PD Joint Services, Wilson will oversee demilitarization of all the services conventional ammunition. His office is also responsible for the modernization of the industrial base, which includes government owned contractor operated and government owned government operated depots.

The Joint Services team manages the allocation of funds from Office of the Secretary of Defense to rebuild, sustain and renew these facilities so that we can provide the right ammunition for our joint warfighters downrange, said Maddux.

"Jeff's great leadership skills and project manager skills of the past will certainly serve him well," Maddux said of Wilson's impending management responsibilities.

As Wilson took the podium, he said that when he was commissioned into the Army his dream was to conduct ammunition research and development - and he achieved this dream during previous assignments.

"Now I have the chance to work directly in another critical area of the ammunition business and that is the management and modernization of the nation's industrial base, the management of our conventional ammunition stockpile and demilitarization of munitions that have reached the end of their useful life," Wilson said.

While Wilson said he has always been interested in these aspects of the ammunition business, with the exception of his days on the Explosive Ordnance Disposal range at Fort Riley, he has always been limited to a role as outside observer or customer.

"Now I have a chance to be directly involved in helping the Army and DOD shape a vision for the future and manage these assets day-to-day," he said.

"I've always been proud of my association with Team Picatinny and I'm delighted to be able to return now as the Project Director for Joint Services. I understand how critical this mission is and I'm fully dedicated to working with our team members our stakeholders across the services and our partners in both government and industry to accomplish this mission."

Related Links:

Picatinny Arsenal website